Slate's Bryan Curtis had dinner with Tim and Nina Zagat, publishers of the Zagat Survey of New York restaurants to see what life is like for them. Yes, they eat pretty much all their meals out (even at their country estate), and yes, every place they go they get star treatment, recognized by maître d's and feted by owners: "The city's major food critics—Frank Bruni at the Times, say, or Adam Platt at New York—are treated like minor royalty upon entering a restaurant. But then they must actually review the restaurant, which can prompt bad feelings and make their re-entry a few months later a rather cold and uncomfortable occasion. The Zagats assign the reviewing to an army of readers and are never in danger of being anything other than beloved enthusiasts."
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